New album Greetings From Gartnavel coming in January 2026
Amy Duncan has been pursuing her passion for songwriting since 2006 when her debut album ‘Pilgrimage’ was released on the US label Plain Recordings after they discovered her songs on social networking site ‘Myspace’. She has had songs placed on the BBC3 Television’s Lip Service and the Netflix version of Charmed.
Through Creative Scotland funding Amy was able to work with one of Scotland’s finest producers Calum Malcolm (Prefab Sprout, The Blue Nile) and ‘Cycles of Life’ was released on Linn Records in 2013. Since then Amy was chosen by Showcase Scotland as one of 2 Scottish acts to perform at the Eastern Canadian Music Alliance and was part of the Made In Scotland Showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013 and 2014. 'Undercurrents' (2016) was also funded by Creative Scotland featuring self written string arrangements played by members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
‘The Hidden World’ (2020) and ‘Cocoon’ (2021) albums were self produced and released on Amy’s own label Filly Records and were played on BBC Radio 2 Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe, BBC 6 Music Radcliffe and Maconie and the Lauren Laverne Show. ‘The Whole Town’ song was featured in the top 100 tunes from Scotland in 2020 in the Herald, along with Lewis Capaldi. ‘Cocoon’ was written in the lockdown and was reviewed in the ‘Standout’ section of The Musician Magazine.
Being a classically trained double bass player, Amy has always played bass on her own recordings, as well as writing her own string arrangements. She recently performed double bass with the hugely successful National Theatre of Scotland show: June Carter Cash: The Woman Her Music And Me which was written by Charlene Boyd, who won a Fringe First for the play which she also starred in. It was directed by Cora Bissett - Amy’s band mate from the punk / folk band Swelling Meg which Amy played bass in back in the 90’s.
Amy collaborated with award-winning director and writer Ben Harrison on ‘Undertow Overflow’, a Creative Scotland funded songs and short stories project which toured Scotland in October 2022. Alternating songs and short stories, Amy played bass, guitar and piano loops for Ben as he performed, who then in turn provided vocals and keyboard for Amy's songs. The show gained 4 star reviews from Joyce McMillan at The Scotsman and Michael Cox at The Stage. Undertow Overflow had its first international performance in Romania at the International Performing Arts Festival of Targoviste Babel Fast in June 2023.
Amy released her most recent album ‘Wake’ on 25th October 2024. It is a collaboration with lyricist David Paton, and was produced in Glasgow with Mark Freegard in 2003 in the aftermath of the 1994 suicide of David's twin-brother Iain. It was both Amy's first recorded album as a solo-artist and is her ninth release.
Her upcoming album, ‘Greetings From Gartnavel’ also a collaboration with David Paton, is now available to pre-order through Last Night From Glasgow and will be released in January 2026. Written partly from the psychiatric ward, Greetings From Gartnavel gives a warm and unusual insight into David's experiences with schizophrenia. Reflecting the light and dark of these extraordinary lyrics, through sparse arrangements and off kilter sounds, Amy plays piano, guitar and double bass, with Graeme Miller on electric guitar and synthesizer. The album is recorded, mixed & co- produced by Mark Freegard and is supported by Creative Scotland. Now available to pre-order through Last Night From Glasgow (the 1st 50 copies of the limited edition blue vinyl will be signed).